Collection Descriptions: A - C

A collection of volunteer enlistments, payroll accounts, certificates of release, company descriptive book, company clothing book, quarterly return of clothing and camp garrison equipment for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters of 1863, ordnance and ordnance stores reports for the 3rd quarter of 1863 and the company muster roll for the 15th Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry, Company F. Collection Size: 7 folders and 2 volumes | Collection #62

A

Records of the Pittsburg, Kansas, branch of the American Association of University Women. The records consist of newsletters, scrapbooks, membership lists, programs, histories, correspondence, financial records, photographs, by-laws, and related materials. The A.A.U.W., Pittsburg Branch, Records consist primarily of historical and administrative records of the organization from its founding in 1926 up to 1973. The records are arranged into twelve series: Anniversaries, Bulletins, Correspondence, By-Laws, Financial, Historian and Publicity, Membership, Officer and Committee Lists, Photographs, Programs and Yearbooks, Kansas Division, and Children’s Theatre. The Bulletins series and the Historian and Publicity series are the most comprehensive and provide the best overview of the Branch’s activities. Collection Size: 1.25 linear feet | Collection #1

B

A collection of materials relating to Debra Dene Barnes, a native of Moran, Kansas and student at Kansas State College of Pittsburg, who was chosen as Miss Kansas 1967 and then went on to win the Miss America 1968 Pageant. The collection consists of newspaper clippings, scrapbooks of news clippings, photographs, various pageant programs, and other papers and photographs relating to the time she spent as a student at Kansas State College of Pittsburg and her tenure as Miss Pittsburg State 1967, Miss Kansas 1967, and Miss America 1968. Collection Size: 1 linear foot & oversize | Collection #73

Bertie Cole Bays was an avid writer and poet during her lifetime. She wrote more than 200 poems and many were printed in regional and national publications. A number of her humorous writings focused on her role as a minister’s wife. She was named Poet Laureate of Kansas in 1939. During the celebration of the Kansas Centennial in 1961, Bays collaborated with Arleen Purcell, a Fort Scott elementary school music instructor, to create a musical stage production entitled, “Footprints on the Frontier.” The pageant consisted of nearly 500 students as performers with several adults serving as narrators and included original compositions and lyrics, American folk songs, and frontier ballads. Collection Size: 2 linear feet | Collection #46

Biographical materials, research reports, lists of patents and publications, certificates, awards, and photographs of Kenneth Bean, a 1950 graduate of Pittsburg State University, engineer for Eagle-Picher and Texas Instruments corporations, and pioneer in silicon technology.Kenneth E. Bean was born in Independence, Missouri, and raised in southeast Kansas. During World War II he served in the 31st Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater, earning a U.S. Infantry Combat badge, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and a Presidential citation for participation in the Philippine Campaign. Following the war, he attended Kansas State Teachers College, now Pittsburg State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in physical chemistry in 1950. Collection Size: 14 folders | Collection #92

Joe Neil Beeler was an illustrator, painter and sculptor for most of his life. He helped bring international attention to Western art when he rose to fame during the 1960s. He co-founded the Cowboy Artist of America and held several art shows. The papers in this collection include correspondences (personal and professional), news clippings, magazines, articles, photographs, and programs. Joe Neil Beeler was born on December 25, 1931 in Joplin, Missouri. Beeler's spent his childhood learning how to fish, hunt, ride a horse, and shoot a gun. Beeler claimed to be part Cherokee and spent a good deal of time in Quapaw, Oklahoma, at the seasonal powwows with his Native American relatives. During this time he began to identify with the Native American lifestyle and genuinely learned to respect that particular lifestyle. Collection Size: 13 folders | Collection #101

A collection of materials relating to Jewell Bissell, a native of Cherokee County, Kansas. The collection consists of a memoir of her childhood, artwork, photographs, letters, and a graduation announcement. Collection Size: 10 folders | Collection #5

Minute book, history, by-laws, membership lists, financial records, and related materials of a women’s reading club in Pittsburg, Kansas, organized in July 1921.The materials in this collection provided a significant record of a women’s reading club from 1921 to 1982. There is little information about the activities of the club after that date. The club, limited to twenty active members, included many of the prominent women of Pittsburg. The reading lists included works of fiction and non-fiction. The records provide a good sense of what books were popular or perceived to be significant during the years from 1921 to 1982. Collection Size: 8 folders | Collection #94

Papers of Captain Richard M. Box, a Union veteran of the American Civil War who served in the Seventh Cavalry regiment of the Missouri State Militia from 1862 to 1865. Richard M[erriweather] Box was born in 1837 and died August 5, 1902. Box enlisted in Pettis County, Missouri, in the Seventh Cavalry, Company G, of the Missouri State Militia, as a private on April 1, 1862. By April 25, 1862, Box was commissioned as a First Lieutenant for Company B of the same regiment. On September 19, 1863, Box was promoted to Captain of Company H and he remained in that rank until he was discharged on April 20, 1865. Collection Size: 1 folder | Collection #77

A collection of materials relating to William Brandenburg’s time as the president of the Kansas State Teachers College (now Pittsburg State University). The collection consists of university documents, celebrations, and basic biographical information. William Aaron Brandenburg was born October 10, 1869 in Volga, Iowa. He earned both bachelor and master master’s degrees from Drake University, in Des Moines, Iowa. Following graduation he served as superintendent of schools in Mason City, Iowa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma before becoming president of the Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg, Kansas, now Pittsburg State University. He was the first leader of the institution to be titled President, and held the position for 27 years, from 1913 to 1940. During his presidency ten new buildings were added to the campus, along with numerous programs, degrees and certificates, and new faculty positions. Collection Size: 14 folders | Collection #99 | Digital Collection

Letters from Laura Bridgman, the first deaf-blind person to be successfully educated in the United States. Included are six letters, typed transcripts of the letters, and a piece of lace knitted by Laura Bridgman. Collection Size: 2 folders | Collection #2 | Digital Collection

Papers of Anne Tedlock Brooks (1905-1980), a Southeast Kansas writer born in Columbus Kansas. She was a writer of novels for young readers. Brooks attended the Kansas State Teachers College(now Pittsburg State University), the University of Oregon, and the University of San Francisco. Collection Size: 3 linear feet | Collection #111

A collection of clippings, writings, images, and miscellaneous materials of silent screen actress Louise Brooks. Louise Brooks (1906-1985) was born in Cherryvale, Kansas. As a child, she was an entertainer traveling around southeastern Kansas dancing at a variety of local events. The Brooks family moved to Independence, Kansas, in 1919 and later to Wichita, Kansas, where her father expanded his law career. With the advent of talking pictures Brooks tried to renegotiate her contract for the use of her voice. Paramount Studios would not agree to the new terms and Brooks left the United States to take a leading role in the German film, Pandora’s Box, in 1929. Collection Size: 5 folders | Collection #42

The papers in this collection pertain to Ruth W. Brown, the head librarian at Bartlesville Public Library from 1929 to 1950. The collection focuses on an issue in the 1950s which ultimately led to the dismissal of her job. This collection contains correspondences, clippings, legal documents, professional publications, and autobiographical pieces by Brown. Collection Size: 5 linear feet | Collection #113

Henry Laurens Call (1867-1917), born in New York City and educated at the College of Manhattan, was a Socialist lawyer, economist, and inventor, most notably of the airships built between 1908 and 1912 in Girard, Kansas. Call was twice married: in 1904 to Jessie Lewelling, daughter of Lorenzo D. Lewelling, twelfth Governor of Kansas; then, in 1906, to Emma Johns, a Carthage, Missouri pianist and composer. According to a letter from Marcet Haldeman-Julius, found in the Haldeman Collection at the Lilly Library, Indiana University, dated September 15, 1912, Call was a Christian Scientist. His first association with Girard occurred in 1893 while conferring with Governor Lewelling, whose lieutenant governor, Percy Daniels, was from Girard. A mutual interest in economics welded a friendship between Call and Daniels that lasted until Daniels’ death in 1916. A year later, Call was killed in an aviation accident in Wyoming. Collection Size: 9 folders | Collection #26

Records of the Carver Social League of Pittsburg, Kansas. The records consist of minute books, a history, correspondence, clippings, ownership and operation records, financial records, United Way of Pittsburg records, social and rehabilitation service records, and related materials. The Carver Social League, named after George Washington Carver, was established in Pittsburg, Kansas in 1947 because membership for black citizens was denied by many of the community groups and organizations in Pittsburg at the time. The organization worked through auxiliary groups such as the Modern Matrons, Adult Serving Group, Teen Town, and Carver Proper. Collection Size: 1 linear foot | Collection #17

Concert programs of the Centennial Choir and community-wide performances of George Frederick Handel’s oratorio “Messiah,” held in Crawford County, Kansas. The Centennial Choir, a group of area citizens from Crawford County, Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri, formed the choir in 1975 to celebrate the national bicentennial in 1976. The choir performed under two different directors, Marshall Turley, from 1975 until the fall of 1988, and Susan Marchant, from the fall of 1988 until the group disbanded the fall of 1998. Collection Size: 6 folders | Collection #37

Collection of Robert R. Clark, Sergeant, United States Army. Collection consists of personal correspondence between family members from 1929 through 1954. Smaller sections of the collection are letters from WWII to Harold and Mary Clark, Robert’s parents. The bulk of the collection covers Robert Clark’s service in the United States Army during his tour of duty in Korea during the Korean War. Much of the correspondence is between Robert and his mother. Collection Size: 39 folders | Collection #63

A collection of photographs, postcards, and notes compiled in 1923 by Ira Clemens. The materials concern mining communities and towns in Crawford and Cherokee Counties in Kansas and Mindenmines, Missouri. The photographs consist primarily of street scenes, churches, public buildings such as libraries and schools, recreational buildings and parks, and residences of miners. The notes typically define the physical location of the community, indicate the population characteristics, identify the major buildings, disclose bank holdings, and other features of the community. Collection Size: 1 volume | Collection #16 | Digital Collection

Glen Clugston is a concert pianist, as well as a conductor of musicals. He has conducted several famous musicals throughout the United States, including “Annie,” “My Fair Lady,” “Fiddle on the Roof,” and “Oklahoma!” He has traveled throughout the world accompanying John Sebastian, a concert harmonicist. The contents of this collection consists of scripts, scores, biographical material, articles, reviews, clippings, music books, recordings and miscellaneous items. Collection Size: 10 linear feet | Collection #108

Publications, unpublished manuscripts, and research materials of Shirley Holmes Cochell, an educator and free-lance journalist. Includes book manuscripts, essays, short stories, poems, research materials, a bibliography of published works, and promotional materials for her book, Land of the Coyote. Collection Size: 2.5 linear feet | Collection #32

The papers in this collection pertain to Jane Kathryn Conrad, who was an Atheist activist. These papers focus on the last years of her life. The collection consists of correspondences, publications, articles, and clippings. She was an Atheist activist and columnist and some of her peers referred to her as a Humanist. She dedicated the last years of her life to challenging the public’s view on Atheism, believing that America’s most well-known Atheist, Madalyn O’Hair, was portraying religious thought and issues incorrectly. She would write to local and metropolitan newspapers to protest America taking a stance on religion. She wrote five books, two regarding religion, two regarding mobile homes, and one relating to the Madalyn O’Hair family. She also wrote several articles and a newsletter called the Irreverent Review. Collection Size: 5 folders | Collection #112

This collection of documents is comprised of Crawford County District Court records, Justice of the Peace records, City Court of Pittsburg records, City Court of Girard records, and City Court of Frontenac records. The documents in this collection pertain to various types of cases including murder, rape, arson, fraud, child endangerment, insufficient funds, welfare, simple assault, speeding and illegal trash dumping. Collection Size: 4 linear feet | Collection #65

A ledger book containing a handwritten account of names of persons booked into the Crawford County Jail as required by Kansas State statute during the period from March 1, 1922 to September 1, 1935. Collection Size: 1 ledger book | Collection #59 | Digital Collection

Papers and collected materials of Andrew J. Curran, a lawyer from Crawford County, Kansas, who served as judge for the 38th District Court of Kansas during the period of 1911 to 1922. The collection consists of personal and professional correspondence; court documents; information on the topics of elections, naturalization, and Americanization; pamphlets and printed materials; a scrapbook pertaining to the subject of bimetallism; speech notes; and other materials. Collection Size: 30 folders | Collection #3